Bamya (Okra Stew)

Bamya is one of those dishes that you either love it or hate it. And I’m confident that if you hate it, it’s because you’ve never had it done right. I get it okra is a very slimy vegetable and the texture is the number one reason people don’t like it. Well if you cook it well that texture is not very present and you’re diving into a plate full of wonder flavor. This is my family recipe that we’ve used time and time again. Everyone in my family loves it and even friends and guests love it as well.

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Serves: 6

Time: 2.5 hours

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Ingredients

• 1.5 lbs Beef Stew Meat

• 1 Yellow Onion

• 1 Bag frozen Okra

• 1 small can Tomato Paste

• 2 tbsp Salt (divided)

• 1 tbsp Black Pepper

• 2 tbsp Zawi Arabic 7 Spice

• 3 tbsp Olive Oil (divided)

• 1 cup Basmati Rice

• 0.5 cup Vermicelli Noodles

• 2 cups Water

• 1 tbsp ghee

• 5 Garlic Cloves

• 1 cup Fresh Cilantro

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Instructions

Dice the yellow onion and grind the garlic into a paste with a pinch of salt. Get a large heavy bottom pan on high heat for two minutes. Drop to medium and add half a tbsp of ghee to cover the bottom of the pot. Add the stew meat and sear on two sides until nicely browned. Remove and keep to the side.

Next add the diced onion and saute until soft, about 5 minutes. Then add the bag of frozen okra and saute for an additional 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste, salt, black pepper, Arabic 7 spice, and seared meat and mix together well. Fill with water and bring to a boil. The cover, drop to simmer, and let it ride for 1 hour.

Rinse & soak the basmati rice in cold water for 20 minutes. Place a small pot on high heat for 2 minutes. Add the other half tbsp of ghee and toast the vermicelli noodles until browned. Then add the rice and salt and toast for another minute. Finally add the water, bring to a boil, then cover and drop to simmer for about 10 minutes.

For the finisher, place a small pan on high heat for 2 minutes then drop to medium. Add the olive oil, garlic, coriander, and cilantro. Flash fry until fragrant and immediately drop into the stew.

Plate and garnish with fresh cilantro and aleppo pepper and enjoy.